(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to porous aluminosilicate compositions which have a unique structure which are stable at high temperatures and under hydrothermal conditions. In particular, the present invention relates to a process for producing the porous aluminosilicate composition which uses a zeolite seed or a zeolite fragment with a structure directing agent, referred to as an organic porogen. The porous aluminosilicate structures are mesoporous and optionally can contain zeolite crystals, depending upon the aging of the zeolite seeds and the extent to which the zeolite fragments are disordered. Further still, the present invention relates to novel cracking catalysts for oil and other organic molecules. The present invention thus provides for the assembly of ultrastable porous aluminosilicates with hexagonal, cubic, wormhole or foam framework structures that do not suffer from the undesirable extensive de-alumination and steam instability of conventional aluminosilicate compositions.
(2) Description of Related Art
All previously reported aluminosilicate mesostructures, as prepared by either direct or post synthesis alumination, result in the extensive de-alumination of the framework upon calcination (Ryoo, R., et al., Chem. Commun. 2225 (1997); and Luan, Z. H., et al., J. Phys. Chem. 99 10590 (1995)). This undesired property has been attributed to the hydrolysis of the framework Al by steam generated in the calcination process (Corma, A., et al., J. Catal. 148 569 (1994); and Luan, Z. H., et al., J. Phys. Chem. 99 10590 (1995)). Regardless of the mechanism responsible for the de-alumination process, the acid catalytic properties of these materials for organic chemical conversions is greatly compromised. Moreover, all previously reported aluminosilicate mesostructures completely lose their framework mesoporosity when exposed to steam at the temperatures normally encountered in the processing of petroleum catalysts.
Soon after the discovery of mesoporous MCM-41 molecular sieves (Beck, J. S., et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 114 10834 (1992)), it was found that the incorporation of aluminum into the framework introduced mild acidic functionality, but the long range order and tetrahedral siting of the aluminum was compromised (Chen, C-Y., et al., Microporous Mater. 2 17 (1993); Borade, R. B., et al., Catal. Lett 31 267 (1994); Luan, Z. H., et al., J. Phys. Chem. 99 10590 (1995)), especially at intended aluminum loadings above about 8 mol %. Mild acidity and loss of structural integrity, together with poor steam stability under regeneration conditions made hexagonal Al-MCM-41 compositions unattractive candidates for the processing of high molecular weight petroleum fractions. More recently, important advances have been made in improving the structural integrity of Al-MCM-41 through direct assembly (Janicke, M. T., et al., Chem. Mater. 11 1342 (1999)) and post synthesis modification methods (Hamdan, H., et al., J. Chem. Soc. Faraday Trans 92 2311 (1996); Mokaya, R., et al., Chem. Commun. 2185 (1997); Ryoo, R., et al., J. Chem. Commun. 2225 (1997); and Ryoo, R., et al., Chem. Mater. 9 1607 (1998)). However, the low acidity and poor steam stability still limit potential applications in petroleum refining (Corma, A., Chem. Rev. 2373 (1997)).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,264,203 to Beck et al describes mesoporous aluminosilicate compositions. The compositions are similar to the present invention but are not based upon pore forming zeolitic seeds or fragments thereof.
There is thus a need for improved aluminosilicate compositions, both mesostructured with larger pore sizes that are stable, particularly in the presence of steam. In particular, the present invention relates to aluminosilicates that have stable framework structures.